How Does Market Research Help Brands Today?

If your company or brand interacts with consumers, you’ve likely heard of market research, but there’s a good chance you’re unclear on its exact meaning or how your company can benefit from it. Is it a focus group or panel? Taking a survey over the phone or over email?

To many, it simply sounds tedious and time-consuming. As a result, when companies have a question or hypothesis about their target consumers, they look for research that’s already been conducted in an effort to apply industry stats to validate their hypotheses (even when it’s a stretch). Worst yet, they may not do any research at all, leading to uninformed decisions.

The good news is that market research is no longer limited to focus groups, mall intercepts, and phone call surveys. Long gone are the days when market research was only for large corporations with big budgets. Today’s modern approach to market research is more accessible than ever, making it easier to reach consumers directly. Smaller players can enter the market research ring to help fuel their growth, thanks to affordable options, quick turnaround times, and personalized, attentive service. At Lab42, we like to think of it as ‘democratized market research’.

So when you have a hypothesis about your consumers, who should you turn to and what can you gain? Here are a few examples of companies that have taken advantage of this new wave of market research to gather valuable feedback from their target consumers:

Frito-Lay: To choose its latest chip flavor, Frito-Lay used social media to replace focus groups and survey panels. The company has asked Facebook fans to weigh in by having them click an “I’d Eat That” button next to suggested new flavors. The results? Consumer tastes varied by location: they found that a beer-battered onion-ring flavor is popular in California and Ohio, while a churro flavor is a hit in New York.

ChargeSource: This company, which develops travel chargers, came to Lab42 to test the effectiveness of a commercial for a new product. We asked their target market (PC owners between the ages of 18 and 50) to provide feedback. Research revealed that respondents were unsure how to buy the product after watching the commercial. ChargeSource tweaked the commercial by adding a clear call to action, and Lab42 went back to consumers to gather a second round of feedback. To find out how quick insights helped ChargeSource, see below:

Happy Goat: This caramel company wanted to know if its handmade sweets would appeal to the masses. To find out, they used the online survey tool SurveyMonkey. According to a USA Today article on digital market research, the results of Happy Goat’s research demonstrated that “shoppers care more about the flavor and quality of confections than [the] caramel’s use of organic ingredients.”

Whether you are a small business or large conglomerate, you should never simply make assumptions about your consumers’ habits, tastes, or preferences. Take the time to ask the right questions and gain valuable insights that either affirm your assumptions, or better yet, prevent costly mistakes.

Gauri is a Kellogg MBA and has spent the last 5 years contributing to the success of hi-tech B2B startups in Chicago. Gauri is a Stevie Award Winner (Female Executive for her work as the CEO of Lab42) and is currently building the business foundation of Modest Inc, one of th...